USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -On April 8, 1861, President Lincoln sent a letter to South Carolina Gov. Francis Pickens stating that he would resupply Fort Sumter, peacefully or, if necessary, by force. Lincoln realized that if South Carolina and the Confederacy allowed reprovision, it would make a mockery of their sovereignty.

Detailed explanation-2: -Knowing that Anderson and his men were running out of supplies, Lincoln announced his intention to send three unarmed ships to relieve Fort Sumter. Having already declared that any attempt to resupply the fort would be seen as an act of aggression, South Carolina militia forces soon scrambled to respond.

Detailed explanation-3: -On April 15, 1861, just three days after the attack on Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling forth the state militias, to the sum of 75, 000 troops, in order to suppress the rebellion.

Detailed explanation-4: -Lincoln had a dilemma. Fort Sumter was running out of supplies, but an attack on the fort would appear as Northern aggression. States that still remained part of the Union (such as Virginia and North Carolina) might be driven into the secessionist camp. People at home and abroad might become sympathetic to the South.

Detailed explanation-5: -Suggested answer: Lincoln decided to send a supply ship to Fort Sumter because the men there were hungry and he needed the fort to be strong as a defender of Northern power in the South. 7.